A throw back to day 3, our last few hours (breakfast, checkout and to the airport) in hong kong during our whirlwind 3D2N trip there this year. For a review of visits and eats on the first two days, check out here and here. On our second night, we shifted to Tsim Sha Tsui and stayed in a cool design hostel/Inn called Just Inn, review at the end of the post. 


Breakfast was an early affair as we pulled ourselves up from our beds to head down the street for breakfast at Macau Cha chaan teng 澳門茶餐廳 just a few doors down along Lock road, the same street where our inn was located at. 

At around 7am when we arrived, the restaurant was largely empty save for a few elderly folk who were quietly dining. We sat down on booth seats and looked around the restaurant and browsed through the menu printed on a small rectangular sheet.


Their breakfast menu is very extensive- with options such as instant noodles with sausage and ham, porridge, western style omelette or scrambled eggs, bo luo bun and also wanton noodles. Also available were set meals that included a drink with an order of a main. 


Due to the wide range of options available, the bf and I were really torn as we wanted to tried a lot of things but could only stomach a normal portion of breakfast. After deliberating for a while, the bf decided to go for cold iced coffee with HK-style instant noodles, while I opted for the yang yung (coffee tea) with the pork bun, fried egg and sausage set. We waved towards the service staff, a middle-aged lady, to get her attention so she could take our order. 

While taking the order half-way though, the bf decided to get an extra set, thinking he would need the extra drink and could probably stomach more food. However, this seemed to infuriate the service lady as she asked us in return very brashly ‘there’s two of you, and you want to order 3 sets? then there will be 3 drinks!’ The bf then looked quite hesitant and wanted to change his order. Getting impatient , the lady told us to make up our mind and just walked off to clean the utensils, not bothering to tend to us until we amended and stuck to our final order. 

Feeling sheepish, we quickly decided to settle for 2 sets, and 1 extra drink for the bf, before asking the lady to help take our order again. This time though, she seemed visibly less upset and less impatient. She put in an extra word before leaving after taking our orders: ‘there, two people, two sets. if there’s not enough food you can always order afterwards’. 

Reminiscent of our experience dining at 1 dim sum, we were reminded again of the local approach- they make it a point not to over order and pack all extra unfinished food to avoid wastage.  

Though we were really looking forward to the food, when we tasted the main courses we were disappointed- they were very average and fell short of our expectations. My pork bun was very tough- the meat wasn’t juicy or tender like how i thought it would be, whilst the bf’s noodles tasted just like normal instant noodles you can make at home. 

average instant noodles

very tough pork bun

Drinks were slightly better- I liked my yang yung as it was very thick and full of flavour, whilst the bf’s iced coffee was quite good as well, providing him the caffeine punch he needed in the morning. 


After our mains we still had a bit more stomach for small nibbles so we decided to get a bo luo bun, which is supposedly their signature, and the Portuguese egg tarts. When the bo luo bun arrived, we regretted our decision immediately. It was huge!!! The bun was larger than both of my fists put together. In terms of taste, sadly, it was also average- I was expecting the bun to be piping hot- so that when the butter is placed inside, it would melt. In reality however, the bun was really just room temperature, so when the slices of butter were placed in it, it was still hard and cold, and hardly melted in the bun nor added any extra flavour or texture to it. 

cold bun = sad diners :(

The egg tarts on the other hand were heavenly. Rich in flavour, soft and sweet on the inside and flaky and slightly crispy on the other, it was perfect! This would be the sole reason we return to this place – for the egg tarts alone!



Overall our dining experience at Macau Cha chaan teng was average – only it’s egg tarts were amazing. After our breakfast, we headed back to Just Inn to check out and get ready to head to the airport. 

Just Inn is a small cosy design-inspired budget inn located just 3 minutes away from Tsim Sha Tsui. They have 2 locations, 1 along Lock Road and another on Nathan road. we stayed at their Lock road branch during our second night, which was small and quaint but lovely and exactly what we needed in terms of the price (less than $100 a night for 2 of us). 

It's located up a small flight of stairs in what looks like a dodgy building, but once you step out on the seventh floor, to the right you'll see one of  


see the inn. Just press the bell and wait for the friendly staff to help you in. 
The office is located to the left of the lift while the living area and rooms are on the 7th floor and other floors of the same building. We were allocated a room on another floor and as it wasn't yet check-in time, the room key wasn't available but the staff kindly told us to rest around the common area on the 7th floor while he proceeded to help us with the paper work and depositing of luggage. 


cosy common area on the 7th floor

The standard room that was allocated to us was exactly as shown in the photos- very small as how rooms typically are in Hong Kong, but very tastefully designed and cosy, with everything we needed. The bed was very comfy and the bathroom and resting area spotless.

doorway

our lovely room 

The toilet/shower area is covered using clear glass panels, though there is the option of blinds for you to let down should you feel less comfortable about your traveling partner watch you shower fully naked.  For people who are slightly larger sized or people who are claustrophobic however, I imagine this might not be idea as the entire space is really very small, especially the toilet and shower area. 

There was a nice small guest lounge area along the corridor of the floor where our room was situated, with free coffee (the capsule kind!) for guests to enjoy. The space was really cramp but perfect for just the two of us. We enjoyed a relaxing cup of coffee there after our morning breakfast at Macau Cha Chaan Teng. 

common corridor 

guest lounge area

enjoying a complimentary cuppa :)

Overall though we only stayed a night, we really loved our experience at Just Inn. We liked that the staff were friendly without being obtrusive, and the place was clean, tastefully designed, very affordably priced, yet provided all we needed and most of all, was very conveniently located. 

After getting our caffeine for the morning, we packed our bags and prepared to check out. We headed to Holiday Inn hotel and waited for the free shuttle bus to the airport for our flight home. 

waiting to check out

waiting for the skytrain to airport

neat row of trolleys for guests to use

Pano shot of airport